Iowa landed one of the top recruits in school history on Wednesday in defensive lineman A.J. Epenesa. Epenesa, the rare five-star recruit to commit to Iowa, is a 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive end from Edwardsville, Illinois.

After adding some bigger bodies along the offensive and defensive lines and some experienced, play-making receivers to the roster, Jeff Brohm felt as if he had filled some glaring holes - even if it meant changing the strategy a bit.

Illinois coach Lovie Smith signed 10 in-state players in his 23-man recruiting class Wednesday, the most from the Land of Lincoln since 2008. For fans who have watched some of the best homegrown talent migrate to other Big Ten schools, that is a victory in itself.

Looking to help an offense that was ranked last in average total yards, Rutgers and Chris Ash made some strides Wednesday on national letter of intent day, signing two tackles, two wide receivers and a quarterback who will compete for a starting job.

While Tom Allen used his history as a high school football veteran to nab six in-state recruits and a different approach to sell the Hoosiers' program to prospects, it was his son, Thomas, who got two of his high school teammates from Tampa to give Indiana a chance.